Hi, so I've recently decided to taper Effexor XR. I've been taking it for almost 6 years. Took Pristiq for a few months before that and Lexapro for over 3 years before that. At the moment I am also taking 0.25 mg (0.5 split in half) Rivotril (clonazepam).

Anyways, I am currently taking 37.5mg of Effexor XR. The last time I reduced was in January 2020 (from 75mg). The method I am using to taper is by counting the beads and removing it bit by bit. My Effexor capsule has 180 beads. I removed 10 beads (5.5%) last month and had side effects for after 2 days that lasted for a couple days. They weren't severe, it was mainly feeling low and maybe a bit nauseous.

Then just 5 days ago, I decided to remove 10 more beads, making my total 160. Again I experienced side effects, but they were slightly different this time - bad nausea for 2 days and dizziness. Also, last night I woke up mid sleep with an electrical sensation (seizure??) on the back of my neck. Now this was different to brain zaps as I've already experienced those when I've tried quitting cold turkey in the past (HORRIBLE IDEA). So I'm just curious if anyone's had this type of symptom during their tapering process. I'm feeling so scared right now and am not sure what to do.

Please help and give me any hope! I'll be very grateful